Diet Tip #5: Lose Weight by Eating A Good Breakfast

Green smoothie

I know we start the day with the best intentions, then happy hour rolls around and we've had two margaritas, a bowl of queso and a taco.  Or at least I have.

So if we wake up with good intentions to eat healthfully throughout the course of the day, take advantage of it and eat a quality breakfast.  Study after study shows that eating a well-balanced breakfast starts your day on the right note, helps you concentrate better and gives you more energy.  Breakfast doesn't have to be a huge ordeal.  Just make it a nutrient-filled offering that honors your intentions.

The finished product!

When I was fat, I avoided breakfast, thinking I would "save calories".  I would wind up hungry and binge later in the day.  Every now and then I'll skip breakfast but most days, I get in a green smoothie.  If I'm hungrier, I'll eat something more substantial.

My green smoothie features almond milk, a banana, spinach or kale, dark berries and chia seeds or flax seeds.  If all else fails the rest of the day and I eat nothing but cheese fries, I know that I will have at least consumed some healthy vegetables and fruit to get the day going.

Other quick & easy breakfast recipes: 

• Quick oatmeal (NOT sugar-laden instant) with a variety of toppings - apples, berries, banana, dried apricots, etc.  Top with some peanut butter and cinnamon.  Delicious. 
• A veggie and egg white omelet with a side of berries - again, takes all of five minutes to prepare. 
• Hard boiled eggs with salsa - don't knock it till you've tried it.  Hard boiled eggs are an easy make-ahead item. 
• A high-fiber cereal with some berries or a banana - a 2005 Harvard Health study indicated that high fiber cereals can help men reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, stroke, intestinal polyps and colon caner.  Look for a cereal with at least six grams of fiber per serving and is low in sugar.  Fiber One and All Bran are solid choices.  (A friend of mine calls these "colon blow"...that's another story) 

Personally, I tend to binge on cereal and am rarely satiated by it.  For some, it works.  Me?  Not so much.

Eating on the run?  Here are four breakfast options:

• Starbucks Feta and Spinach Wrap - one of my favorite breakfast items clocking in at 290 calories, 10 grams fat, 3.5 sat fat, 4 grams sugar, 19 grams protein.  
• Starbucks Classic Whole Grain Oatmeal - forgo the brown sugar they give you. This weighs in at 160 calories, 4 grams of fiber & 0 grams of sugar.  Adding nuts and raisins will affect these numbers. 
• McDonald's Fruit & Maple Oatmeal - nix the cranberry/raisin blend and light cream to get it down to 200 calories and only 16 grams of sugar.  
• Dunkin' Donuts Egg White Flatbread - 280 calories, 8 grams fat, 3 gram sat fat, 18 grams protein, 4 grams sugar.

The Takeaway

Get that good food in your stomach first thing on most mornings.  Your body (and waistline) will thank you later in the day.